CN117044179A - Network slice quota management enhancement - Google Patents

Abstract

The network function is responsible for enforcing the network slice quota. The network function identifies a network slice quota for a single network slice selection assistance information (S-nsai); determining that the network slice quota for the S-nsai includes a first quota corresponding to a fifth generation (5G) Packet Data Unit (PDU) session and a second quota corresponding to an interworking handover between a fifth generation core (5 GC) and an Evolved Packet Core (EPC); receiving a request to update the network slice quota; and updating the network slice quota for the S-NSSAI based on the request.

Description

Network slice quota management enhancement

The inventors: V.Wencata Raman, A.P.Prabacal, K.Kerst, R.R. Ma Tuoli sub-

Background

The network may deploy multiple network slices. Generally, network slices refer to end-to-end logical networks configured to provide a particular service and/or have particular network characteristics. Each network slice may be isolated from each other but run on a shared network infrastructure. Thus, each network slice may share network resources, but facilitate different functions.

A network operator may want to limit the number of devices registered to a particular network slice. The network may be equipped with a network slice quota (network slice quota, NSQ) function to perform the task. For example, the NSQ function may perform various operations related to managing the number of UEs registered to an individual network slice.

The UE may establish a session with a remote endpoint via a network connection. During the lifetime of the session, the network may perform a handover of the session from the fifth generation (5G) to Long Term Evolution (LTE), or vice versa. For example, there may be a scenario in which a network is triggered to hand over an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) Packet Data Network (PDN) session to a fifth generation core (5 GC). Similarly, there may be scenarios in which the network is triggered to switch a 5GC Packet Data Unit (PDU) session to the EPC. There has been recognized a need for quota management techniques configured to account for these types of handover scenarios.

Disclosure of Invention

Some example embodiments relate to a processor of a network function configured to perform operations. The operations include: identifying a network slice quota for the single network slice selection assistance information (single network slice selection assistance information, S-NSSAI); determining that the network slice quota for the S-nsai includes a first quota corresponding to a fifth generation (5G) Packet Data Unit (PDU) session and a second quota corresponding to an interworking handover between a fifth generation core (5 GC) and an Evolved Packet Core (EPC); receiving a request to update the network slice quota; and updating the network slice quota for the S-NSSAI based on the request.

Other exemplary embodiments relate to a computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions executable by a processor, wherein the instructions cause the processor to perform operations. The operations include: identifying a network slice quota for single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI); determining that the network slice quota for the S-nsai includes a first quota corresponding to a fifth generation (5G) Packet Data Unit (PDU) session and a second quota corresponding to an interworking handover between a fifth generation core (5 GC) and an Evolved Packet Core (EPC); receiving a request to update the network slice quota; and updating the network slice quota for the S-NSSAI based on the request.

Drawings

Fig. 1 illustrates an exemplary network arrangement according to various exemplary embodiments.

Fig. 2 illustrates a networking architecture for interworking between a fifth generation core (5 GC) and an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) according to various example embodiments.

Fig. 3 illustrates a method for a 5 GC-only quota management scheme in accordance with various exemplary embodiments.

Fig. 4 illustrates a method for a 5 GC-only quota management scheme in accordance with various exemplary embodiments.

Fig. 5 illustrates a method for a 5 GC-only quota management scheme in accordance with various exemplary embodiments.

Fig. 6 illustrates a method for a 5 GC-only quota management scheme in accordance with various exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates a method for a unified quota management scheme in accordance with various exemplary embodiments.

Fig. 8 illustrates a method for a unified quota management scheme in accordance with various exemplary embodiments.

Fig. 9 illustrates a method 900 for a unified quota management scheme in accordance with various exemplary embodiments.

FIG. 10 illustrates a method for a unified quota management scheme in accordance with various exemplary embodiments.

Fig. 11 illustrates an NSQ decision table according to various exemplary embodiments.

Fig. 12 illustrates an exemplary call flow for network slice quota management in accordance with various exemplary embodiments.

Fig. 13 illustrates an exemplary call flow for network slice quota management in accordance with various exemplary embodiments.

Fig. 14 illustrates an exemplary call flow for network slice quota management in accordance with various exemplary embodiments.

Fig. 15 illustrates an exemplary User Equipment (UE) in accordance with various exemplary embodiments.

Detailed Description

The exemplary embodiments may be further understood with reference to the following description and the appended drawings, wherein like elements have the same reference numerals. The exemplary embodiments relate to network slice quota management.

Exemplary embodiments are described with reference to a fifth generation (5G) network supporting network slicing. Generally, network slicing refers to a network architecture in which multiple end-to-end logical networks run on a shared physical network infrastructure. Each network slice may be configured to provide a particular set of capabilities and/or characteristics. Thus, the physical infrastructure of a 5G network may be sliced into multiple virtual networks, each configured for a different purpose. Throughout the specification, references to network slices may represent any type of end-to-end logical network configured for a particular purpose and implemented on a 5G physical infrastructure.

A User Equipment (UE) may be configured to utilize one or more network slices. To provide one example, a UE may utilize a first network slice for one or more operator services (e.g., voice, multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), internet, etc.) and a second, different network slice for third party services. However, the configuration purpose of the network slice is beyond the scope of the exemplary embodiments. The exemplary embodiments are not limited to any particular type of network slice. Rather, the exemplary embodiments relate to improving the manner in which a network performs slice quota management.

The network slice may be identified by a single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI). Each S-NSSAI may be associated with a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) and may include a Slice Service Type (SST) and a Slice Descriptor (SD). SST may identify the expected behavior of the corresponding network slice in terms of service, functionality, and characteristics. The SD may identify any one or more entities associated with the network slice. For example, an SD may indicate an owner or entity (e.g., operator) that manages the network slice and/or an entity that provides applications/services via the network slice (e.g., a third party, an entity that provides applications or services, etc.). In some implementations, the same entity may own the slice and provide services (e.g., operator services). Throughout this specification, S-nsai refers to a single network slice, and nsai may generally refer to one or more network slices.

Exemplary embodiments are also described with reference to network slice quota functions (NSQs). NSQ refers to a network function configured to control and limit the number of UEs registered to a particular network slice. For example, the NSQ may perform various operations related to enforcing a quota for a maximum number of UEs registered to a particular network slice (e.g., S-NSSAI). However, references to the term "NSQ" are provided for illustrative purposes only. Different networks may refer to similar entities by different names, e.g., 3GPP networks may use the terms NSQ and network slice admission control function (network slice admission control function, nsaf) interchangeably.

The UE may establish a session with a remote endpoint via a network connection. During the lifetime of the session, the network may perform a handover of the session from 5G to Long Term Evolution (LTE), or vice versa. For example, there may be a scenario in which a network is triggered to hand over an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) Packet Data Network (PDN) session to a fifth generation core (5 GC). To provide another example, there may be a scenario in which a network is triggered to switch a 5GC Packet Data Unit (PDU) session to the EPC. Throughout this specification, these types of handover scenarios may be generally referred to as "interworking handover scenarios". It has been recognized that there is a need for a network slice quota management technique configured to consider an interworking handover scenario.

The exemplary embodiments include enhancements to network slice quota management configured to address an interworking handover scenario. These enhancements and other exemplary quota management techniques described herein may each be implemented in conjunction with other currently implemented quota management techniques, future implemented quota management techniques, or independently of other quota management techniques.

As will be described in more detail below, the exemplary embodiments utilize a network slice quota that is divided into two or more portions. The first portion of the network slice quota represents a quota for a 5GC PDU session, and the second portion of the network slice quota represents a quota for a PDU session that may undergo a handover from EPC to 5 GC. In addition, the exemplary embodiment includes two different exemplary quota management schemes that may employ the multipart network slice quota mentioned above. One exemplary quota management scheme is specific to a 5G system, while another exemplary quota management scheme is uniform across 5G and LTE. Specific examples of these exemplary quota management schemes are provided in detail below.

Fig. 1 illustrates an exemplary network arrangement 100 according to various exemplary embodiments. The exemplary network arrangement 100 includes a UE 110. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that UE 110 may represent any type of electronic component configured to communicate via a network, such as a mobile phone, tablet, desktop computer, smart phone, tablet, embedded device, wearable device, internet of things (IoT) device, and the like. In the network arrangement 100, only a single UE 110 is shown. However, an actual network arrangement may include any number of UEs used by any number of users. Thus, for purposes of illustration, only an example with a single UE 110 is provided.

UE 110 may be configured to communicate with one or more networks. In an example of network configuration 100, the networks with which UE 110 may wirelessly communicate are a 5G NR Radio Access Network (RAN) 120 and an LTE RAN 122. However, UE 110 may also communicate with other types of networks (e.g., a 5G cloud RAN, a next generation RAN (NG-RAN), a legacy cellular network, a WLAN, etc.), and UE 110 may also communicate with the networks through wired connections. With respect to the exemplary embodiments, UE 110 may establish a connection with 5g NR RAN 120 and/or LTE RAN 122. Thus, UE 110 may have a 5G NR chipset for communicating with NR RAN 120 and an LTE chipset for communicating with LTE RAN 122.

The 5g NR RAN 120 and LTE RAN 122 may be part of a cellular network that may be deployed by a network operator (e.g., verizon, AT & T, T-Mobile, etc.). The RANs 120, 122 may include cells configured to transmit and receive traffic from UEs equipped with appropriate cellular chipsets. In this example, 5g NR RAN 120 includes cell 120A and LTE RAN 122 includes cell 122A. However, references to cells are provided for illustration purposes only, and any suitable cell or base station (e.g., node B, eNodeB, heNB, eNB, gNB, gNodeB, macrocell, microcell, femtocell, etc.) may be deployed.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any relevant procedure for connecting UE 110 to 5g NR RAN 120 or LTE RAN 122 may be performed. For example, as described above, 5g NR RAN 120 may be associated with a particular network operator where UE 110 and/or its users have protocol and credential information (e.g., stored on a SIM card). Upon detecting the presence of 5g NR RAN 120, UE 110 may transmit corresponding credential information to be associated with 5g NR RAN 120. More specifically, UE 110 may be associated with a particular cell (e.g., cell 120A). Those skilled in the art will understand

In addition to RANs 120-122, network arrangement 100 also includes a cellular core network 130, the internet 140, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) 150, and a network services backbone 160. The cellular core network 130 may be considered an interconnected set of components that manage the operation and traffic of the cellular network. It may include EPC and/or 5GC. As described above, exemplary embodiments relate to NSQ and interworking between 5G systems and EPC. A specific example of a network architecture for interworking between 5GC and EPC is provided below with respect to fig. 2. Although the cellular core network 130 is shown as a single entity in fig. 2, those skilled in the art will appreciate that EPC and 5GC may be implemented as separate network arrangements, may be collocated as shown in fig. 2, or may have some components located separately and some components collocated.

Returning to the network arrangement 100, the cellular core network 130 may also manage traffic flowing between the cellular network and the internet 140. IMS150 may be generally described as an architecture for delivering multimedia services to UE 110 using IP protocols. IMS150 may communicate with cellular core network 130 and internet 140 to provide multimedia services to UE 110. The network services backbone 160 communicates with the internet 140 and the cellular core network 130, either directly or indirectly. Network services backbone 160 may be generally described as a set of components (e.g., servers, network storage arrangements, etc.) that implement a set of services that may be used to extend the functionality of UE 110 in communication with various networks.

Fig. 2 illustrates a networking architecture 200 for interworking between 5GC and EPC, according to various example embodiments. The following description will provide a general overview of the various components of the exemplary architecture 200. The specific operations performed by the components with respect to the exemplary embodiments will be described in more detail after the description of architecture 200.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the components of the exemplary architecture 200 may reside in various physical and/or virtual locations with respect to the network arrangement 100 of fig. 1. These locations may include: within the access network (e.g., RANs 120, 122), within the core network 130, as a separate component outside of the locations described with respect to fig. 1, etc.

In fig. 2, the various components are shown as being connected via connections labeled Nx (e.g., N1, N2, N3, N4, N7, N8, N10, N11, N15, N26, etc.) or Sx (e.g., S1, S11, S6a, S5-C, S5-U, etc.). Those skilled in the art will appreciate that each of these connections (or interfaces) is defined in the 3GPP specifications. The exemplary architecture 200 uses these connections in the manner defined in the 3GPP specifications. Furthermore, although these interfaces are referred to as connections throughout this specification, it should be understood that these interfaces need not be direct wired or wireless connections, e.g., the interfaces may communicate via intervening hardware and/or software components. To provide an example, UE 110 may exchange signals with cell 120A over the air. However, in architecture 200, UE 110 is shown with a connection to access and mobility management function (Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF) 205. The connection or interface is not a direct communication link between UE 110 and AMF 205, but is a connection facilitated by intervening hardware and software components. Thus, throughout the specification, the terms "connected" and "interface" are used interchangeably to describe an Nx or Sx interface between various components.

Architecture 200 includes UE 110, 5g NR RAN 120, and LTE RAN 122. In this example, UE 110 may be shown to camp on 5g NR RAN 120. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the exemplary embodiments may be applied to scenarios in which UE 110 camps on 5g NR RAN 120 and/or LTE RAN 122.

UE 110 and 5g NR RAN 120 may be connected to AMF 205.AMF 205 is generally responsible for mobility management in 5g NR RAN 120. For example, AMF 205 may be responsible for managing handovers between gnbs.

The NR RAN 120 is connected to a User Plane Function (UPF) +packet data network gateway (PGW) -user plane (U) 210. UPF+PGW-U210 may be dedicated to interworking between 5GC and EPC. UEs not subject to 5GC and EPC interworking may be served by entities not dedicated to interworking (e.g., PGWs, UPFs, etc.).

AMF 205 is connected to Session Management Function (SMF) +pgw-control plane (C) 215. SMF+PGW-C215 may be dedicated to interworking between 5GC and EPC. UEs not subject to 5GC and EPC interworking may be served by entities not dedicated to interworking (e.g., PGWs, SMFs, etc.).

The network architecture 200 also includes a Policy Charging Function (PCF) 218 and a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) +unified data management (UDM) 220.PCF 218 may manage control plane functions via policy rules and user plane functions via policy enforcement. The hss+udm 220 may process subscription related information to support various network services.

On the EPC side, the network architecture 200 also includes a Mobility Management Entity (MME) 225 and a Serving Gateway (SGW) 230. The MME 225 is generally responsible for connectivity and mobility management in the LTE RAN 122. SGW 230 is in the user plane and may perform operations related to packet forwarding and routing.

AMF 205 and SMF+PGW-C215 are also connected to network slice selection function (network slice selection function, NSSF) 235, network repository function (network repository function, NRF) 240 and NSQ 245.NSSF 235 performs operations related to network slicing. For example, NSSF 235 may select a set of network slice examples that serve UE 110. NSSF 235 may also manage one or more databases including S-NSSAI and a mapping table of the frequency bands that S-NSSAI is allowed to operate with. NRF 240 may perform operations related to network service discovery functions that determine where and how to access other network functions.

NSQ 245 may be configured to perform operations related to controlling the number of UEs registered per network slice. For example, NSQ 245 may perform operations such as, but not limited to, maintaining a count of the number of registered UEs of S-NSSAI and maintaining a count of the number of active PDU sessions of S-NSSAI.

To provide a more specific example, when deployed, NSQ 245 may receive a registration request from SMF 215 indicating that UE 110 wishes to register a PDU session within a particular S-nsai. NSQ 245 may then examine the count of registered UEs within S-NSSAI and determine whether a network slice quota has been reached. NSQ 245 may then accept or reject the registration request based on the count and quota. However, references to quota concepts are provided for illustrative purposes only. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that different entities may refer to similar concepts by different names. For example, the 3GPP network may use the terms quota and admission control to refer to the same concept.

The network architecture 200 is one example of how interworking between 5GC and EPC may be achieved. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the exemplary concepts described herein may be applied to any suitable network architecture that enables interworking between 5GC and EPC.

Exemplary embodiments relate to enabling enhancements to network slice quota management. First, a brief overview of some of the exemplary enhancements is provided below. Subsequently, specific details regarding operations that may be performed by NSQ 245 to implement these exemplary enhancements are provided below with respect to fig. 3-10. In addition, exemplary call flows for network slice quota management are provided below with respect to fig. 12-14.

A network operator may wish to limit the number of UEs registered to a particular network slice (e.g., S-nsai). Thus, the network slice may be configured with a maximum number of quotas for registering the UE. One exemplary enhancement involves NSQ 245 dividing the network slice quota into multiple parts. Although the example references provided herein are divided into two portions of a network slice quota, one skilled in the art will appreciate that the example enhancements are applicable to a network slice quota that includes two or more portions.

To provide an example, NSQ 245 may receive network slice quota from operations, administration, and maintenance (OAM) in accordance with operator-defined policies and requirements. NSQ 245 (or OAM) may divide the network slice quota into two parts. Throughout this specification, one portion of the network slice quota may be referred to as a "5GC quota," which may represent a maximum number of quotas for registering 5G PDU sessions. Another portion of the network slice quota may be referred to as an "Interworking (IWK) quota," which may represent a maximum number of quota for PDU sessions that may be switched from EPC to 5 GC. The 5GC quota and the IWK quota add up to the total network slice quota received from the OAM.

The network operator may wish to allocate a large portion of the network slice quota to the 5GC quota. Thus, a smaller portion of the network slice quota may be allocated to the IWK quota. However, any reference to a particular 5GC quota configuration or IWK quota configuration is provided for illustration purposes only. An exemplary network slice quota may include two or more portions configured in any suitable manner.

The IKW quota allows the network to consider an interworking handover scenario. These interworking handover scenarios may be common events and without IWK quota, the network slice may not be prepared for the PDU session to be handed over from EPC. Thus, conventionally, when the network does not consider interworking handover, the UE may experience connectivity problems due to failed handover attempts.

Another exemplary enhancement involves NSQ 245 tracking the location of the originating session. For example, a PDU session originating in a 5GC may be marked by NSQ 245 as a 5 GC-originated session. Similarly, PDN sessions originating in the EPC may be marked as EPC-originated sessions by NSQ 245. Additionally, based on the combination of PLLMN ID, smf+pgw-C address, and Access Point Name (APN) used in EPC, NSQ 245 may be able to identify an association between a PDN session and a specific 5G-specific S-nsai counterpart for quota management. The above parameters may enable mapping of PDN sessions to S-nsais in 5GC, since the same APN is likely to be used for more than 1 PDN session in EPC. As will be described in more detail below, these enhancements enable NSQ 245 to manage the 5GC quota and IWK quota of a network slice.

The exemplary embodiment includes two different exemplary quota management schemes that may employ the multipart network slice quota mentioned above. One exemplary quota management scheme is specific to a 5G system, while another exemplary quota management scheme is uniform across 5G and LTE. Specific examples of the 5 GC-only quota management scheme will be provided below with respect to fig. 3-6, and specific examples of the unified quota management scheme will be provided below with respect to fig. 7-10.

Another exemplary enhancement involves providing an indication to NSQ 245 indicating whether S-NSSAI and UE ID support unified data management. The indication may be provided based on a service level agreement of the operator and include an indication as to which scheme to apply. If supported, both the 5G PDU session and the EPC PDN session may utilize available network slice quotas, e.g., a unified quota management scheme may be utilized. If not supported, only 5G PDU sessions may utilize network slice quota, e.g., a 5GC quota only management scheme may be utilized.

Fig. 3 illustrates a method 300 for a 5 GC-only quota management scheme in accordance with various exemplary embodiments. The method 300 is described from the perspective of the NSQ 245 of the network architecture 200.

In 305, NSQ 245 determines that S-NSSAI is subject to a 5 GC-only quota management scheme. In this scheme, the network slice quota for S-NSSAI is divided into a 5GC quota and an IWK quota.

In 310, a PDU session is established for UE 110 in 5 GC. In 315, NSQ 245 may reduce the 5GC quota by 1 based on the PDU session establishment.

Throughout the specification, the terms "decrease" and "increase" with respect to quota refer to counts or availability corresponding to network slices. For example, the quota may represent a fixed maximum (Q). In addition, a counter may be used to keep a count of the number of registered UEs for S-nsai and/or the number of active PDN/PDU sessions for S-nsai. Thus, the count (C) may be changed based on registering the UE/session. The decrease in quota means that there is less space available for additional UEs/sessions to consider using the quota. This may be represented by C+1/Q, and thus, a decrease in quota may represent an increase in count. The increase in quota means that there is more space available for additional UEs/sessions to consider using the quota. This may be represented by C-1/Q, and thus, an increase in quota may represent a decrease in count.

At this time, UE 110 is currently considered to use a 5GC quota. At 320, the PDU session may be transferred from the 5GC to the EPC (e.g., interworking handover scenario). In 325, NSQ 245 may increment the 5GC quota by 1 after the handoff. Since this is a 5G-only quota management scheme, there is no quota configured to account for UEs/sessions that are not registered to the 5 GC. In this example, NSQ 245 may also maintain an IWK quota portion of the network slice quota. However, the IWK quota is independent of the scenario described in method 300.

Fig. 4 illustrates a method 400 for a 5 GC-only quota management scheme in accordance with various exemplary embodiments. The method 400 is described from the perspective of the NSQ 245 of the network architecture 200.

In 405, NSQ 245 determines that S-NSSAI is subject to a 5 GC-only quota management scheme. In this scheme, the network slice quota for S-NSSAI is divided into a 5GC quota and an IWK quota.

In 410, a PDN session is established in the EPC for UE 110. Since this is an example of a 5G-only quota management scheme, there is no quota configured to account for UEs/sessions that are not registered to the 5 GC.

In 415, the PDN session may be transferred from the EPC to the 5GC (e.g., an interworking handover scenario). This session can now be considered a 5G PDU session. In 420, NSQ 245 may reduce the IWK quota by 1 after the handoff. Since this is a 5G-only quota management scheme, the IWK quota may be used to allow for UE/sessions that switch from EPC to 5 GC.

At 425, the PDU session may be transferred from 5GC to the EPC. Thus, in this example, the session originates on the EPC, transfers to the 5GC, and then transfers back to the EPC. In 430, NSQ 245 may increment the IWK quota by 1 after switching to EPC. Since this is a 5G-only quota management scheme, there is no quota configured to account for UEs/sessions that are not registered to the 5 GC.

In some embodiments, if one of the 5GC quota or the IWK quota is not available, NSQ 245 may utilize the availability of the other quota to consider i) a UE/session registered with the 5GC or ii) a session that may be handed off from the EPC to the 5 GC. In other words, there may be a scenario where the UE/session usage 5GC quota should be considered, but NSQ 245 has decided that the UE/session usage IWK quota, or vice versa. In an example of method 400, if NSQ 245 determines in 420 that an IWK quota has been reached, NSQ 245 may still grant transfer by considering that the UE/session uses a 5GC quota.

Fig. 5 illustrates a method 500 for a 5 GC-only quota management scheme in accordance with various exemplary embodiments. The method 500 is described from the perspective of the NSQ 245 of the network architecture 200.

In 505, NSQ 245 determines that S-NSSAI is subject to a 5 GC-only quota management scheme. In this scheme, the network slice quota for S-NSSAI is divided into a 5GC quota and an IWK quota.

In 510, a PDU session is established for UE 110 in 5 GC. In 515, NSQ 245 may reduce the 5GC quota by 1 based on the PDU session establishment. At 520, the PDU session may be transferred from the 5GC to the EPC (e.g., an interworking handover scenario). At 525, NSQ 245 may increment the 5GC quota by 1 based on the switch.

At this point, the session originating in 5GC is now registered as a PDN session with the EPC at 510. Since this is an example of a 5G-only quota management scheme, there is no quota configured to account for UEs/sessions that are not registered to the 5GC.

In 530, the PDN session may be transferred from the EPC back to the 5GC. In 535, NSQ 245 may decrease the 5GC quota by 1 after the handoff. As indicated above, in some embodiments, if the 5GC quota is full, NSQ 245 may still grant the handover by taking into account the UE/session usage IWK quota. In this type of scenario, NSQ 245 may reduce IWK by 1 instead of reducing 5GC quota by 1.

Fig. 6 illustrates a method 600 for a 5 GC-only quota management scheme in accordance with various exemplary embodiments. The method 600 is described from the perspective of the NSQ 245 of the network architecture 200.

In 605, NSQ 245 determines that S-NSSAI is subject to a 5 GC-only quota management scheme. In this scheme, the network slice quota for S-NSSAI is divided into a 5GC quota and an IWK quota.

In 610, a PDN session is established in the EPC for UE 110. Since this is an example of a 5G-only quota management scheme, there is no quota configured to account for UEs/sessions that are not registered to the 5GC.

In 615, the PDN session may be transferred to a 5GC. In 620, NSQ 245 may decrease the IWK quota by 1 in response to the handover. As indicated above, in some embodiments, if the IWK quota is full, NSQ 245 may still grant the handover by taking into account the UE/session usage 5GC quota. In this type of scenario, NSQ 245 may reduce 5GC by 1 instead of reducing IWK quota by 1.

Fig. 7 illustrates a method 700 for a unified quota management scheme in accordance with various exemplary embodiments. The method 300 is described from the perspective of the NSQ 245 of the network architecture 200.

In 705, NSQ 245 determines that S-NSSAI is subject to a uniform quota management scheme. In this scheme, the network slice quota for S-NSSAI is divided into a 5GC quota and an IWK quota.

In 710, a PDU session is established for UE 110 in 5 GC. In 715, NSQ 245 may reduce the 5GC quota by 1 based on the PDU session establishment.

At 720, the PDU session can be transferred from the 5GC to the EPC (e.g., an interworking handover scenario). In 725, NSQ 245 may increment the 5GC quota by 1 after the handoff. Since this is a uniform quota management scheme, the IWK quota may be used to account for UEs/sessions registered to the EPC. Thus, NSQ 245 may also reduce the IWK quota by 1 in 730.

Only the 5GC quota management scheme and the unified management scheme use the IWK quota slightly differently. As described above, only the IWK quota of the 5GC quota management scheme is used for UEs/sessions registered to the 5 GC. Thus, only the IWK quota of the 5GC quota management scheme allows for UEs/sessions registered to the 5GC after the interworking handover scenario. The IKW quota of the unified management scheme allows for UEs/sessions that are not registered with the 5GC but can be transferred to the 5GC during the lifetime of the session. Thus, the IWK quota of the unified quota management scheme may be used to account for UEs/sessions registered to the EPC.

In some scenarios, the IWK quota may not be available. For example, the count of PDN sessions corresponding to S-NSSAI associated with the same Data Network Name (DNN) may be equal to a maximum value. Although IWK quota is not available, NSQ 245 may still allow for handover by maintaining 5GC quota. Thus, there may be scenarios where NSQ 245 considers that a session registered to the EPC uses a 5GC quota.

Fig. 8 illustrates a method 800 for a unified quota management scheme in accordance with various exemplary embodiments. The method 800 is described from the perspective of the NSQ 245 of the network architecture 200.

In 805, NSQ 245 determines that S-NSSAI is subject to a 5GC uniform quota management scheme. In this scheme, the network slice quota for S-NSSAI is divided into a 5GC quota and an IWK quota.

In 810, a PDN session is established for UE 110 in the EPC. In 815, NSQ 245 determines that the combination of smf+pgw-C and APN associated with PDN on EPC has a corresponding 5G S-NSSAI associated with the same DNN. In this example, it is assumed that there is a corresponding 5G S-NSSAI associated with the same DNN. However, there may be scenarios in which there is no corresponding 5G S-NSSAI associated with the same DNN. In this type of scenario, NSQ 245 may utilize a standard quota management scheme, a 5 GC-only quota management scheme, or any other suitable quota management technique in place of the uniform quota management scheme described herein.

In 820, NSQ 245 may reduce the IWK quota based on the PDN session establishment and/or identifying that the APN associated with the PDN on the EPC has a corresponding 5G S-NSSAI associated with the same DNN. In some embodiments, if the IWK quota is full, the NSQ 245 may still grant the session by taking into account the UE/session usage 5GC quota. In this type of scenario, instead of reducing the IWK quota by 1, NSQ 245 may reduce the 5GC quota to account for UEs/sessions registered on the EPC.

At 825, the PDN session may be transferred from the EPC to the 5GC (e.g., interworking handover scenario). This session can now be considered a 5G PDU session. In 830, NSQ 245 does not decrease or increase the 5GC quota or the IWK quota. Thus, in this example, the UE/session usage IWK quota is still considered after the transfer.

At 835, the 5G PDU session may be transferred back to the EPC. In 840, NSQ 245 does not decrease or increase the 5GC quota or IWK quota. Thus, in this example, NSQ 245 may consider that a session that originates in the EPC, transitions to a 5GC, and then transitions back to the EPC uses only the IWK quota portion.

Fig. 9 illustrates a method 900 for a unified quota management scheme in accordance with various exemplary embodiments. The method 900 is described from the perspective of the NSQ 245 of the network architecture 200.

In 905, NSQ 245 determines that S-NSSAI is subject to a 5 GC-only quota management scheme. In this scheme, the network slice quota for S-NSSAI is divided into a 5GC quota and an IWK quota.

In 910, a PDU session is established for UE 110 in 5GC. In 915, NSQ 245 may decrease the 5GC quota by 1 based on the PDU session establishment. In 920, the PDU session may be transferred from 5GC to EPC (e.g., interworking handover scenario).

At 925, NSQ 245 may increment the 5GC quota by 1 after the handover. The NSQ may also reduce the IWK quota by 1 after the handoff at 930. At this point, the session originating in 5GC is now registered as a PDN session with the EPC at 910. Thus, consider that a UE/session currently registered on the EPC uses an IWK quota in a unified quota management scheme.

At 935, the PDN session may be transferred from the EPC back to the 5GC. In 940, NSQ 245 may decrease the 5GC quota by 1 after the handover. In 945, NSQ 245 may also increment the IWK quota by 1 after the handoff.

Fig. 10 illustrates a method 1000 for a unified quota management scheme in accordance with various exemplary embodiments. The method 1000 is described from the perspective of the NSQ 245 of the network architecture 200.

In 1005, NSQ 245 determines that S-NSSAI is subject to a 5GC uniform quota management scheme. In this scheme, the network slice quota for S-NSSAI is divided into a 5GC quota and an IWK quota.

In 1010, a PDN session is established in the EPC for UE 110. In 1015, NSQ 245 determines that the APN associated with the PDN on the EPC has a corresponding 5G S-NSSAI associated with the same DNN. In this example, it is assumed that there is a corresponding 5G S-NSSAI associated with the same DNN. However, there may be scenarios in which there is no corresponding 5G S-NSSAI associated with the same DNN. In this type of scenario, NSQ 245 may utilize a standard quota management scheme, a 5 GC-only quota management scheme, or any other suitable quota management technique in place of the uniform quota management scheme described herein.

In 1020, NSQ 245 may reduce the IWK quota based on the PDN session establishment and/or identifying that the APN associated with the PDN on the EPC has a corresponding 5G S-NSSAI associated with the same DNN. In some embodiments, if the IWK quota is full, NSQ 245 may still grant the handover by taking into account the UE/session usage 5GC quota. In this type of scenario, instead of reducing the IWK quota by 1, NSQ 245 may reduce the 5GC quota to account for UEs/sessions registered on the EPC.

In 1025, the PDN session may be transferred from the EPC to a 5GC (e.g., an interworking handover scenario). This session can now be considered a 5G PDU session. In 1030, NSQ 245 does not decrease or increase the 5GC quota or the IWK quota. Thus, in this example, the UE/session usage IWK quota is still considered after the transfer.

Fig. 11 shows an NSQ decision table 1100. Table 1100 summarizes the scenarios and operations that may be performed by NSQ 245 according to the 5G-only quota management scheme and the uniform quota management scheme. Entry 1105 of table 1100 summarizes method 300, entry 1110 of table 1100 summarizes method 400, entry 1115 of table 1100 summarizes method 500, entry 1120 of table 1100 summarizes method 600, entry 1125 of table 1100 summarizes method 700, entry 1130 of table 1100 summarizes method 800, entry 1135 of table 1100 summarizes method 900, and entry 1140 of table 1100 summarizes method 1000.

Fig. 12 illustrates an exemplary call flow 1200 for network slice quota management in accordance with various exemplary embodiments. Exemplary call flow 1200 includes UE 110, AMF 205, SMF 215, NRF 240, and NSQ 245.

In 1205, NSQ 245 subscribes to SMF 215. This may include the NSQ 245 receiving an indication that the NSQ 245 will track the number of active PDU sessions for a particular S-NSSAI, DNN, or both.

In 1210, UE 110 may transmit a PDU session establishment request to AMF 205. The PDU session establishment request may include the requested S-NSSAI and/or DNN.

In 1215, AMF 205 may transmit a discovery request to NRF 240. For example, the discovery request may be transmitted by AMF 205 to NRF 240 via the Nnrf interface shown in fig. 2. The Request may be referred to as an "nrrf_nfdiscovery_request" and may include an S-NSSAI and an indication that the discovery Request is for an NSQ type network function.

At 1220, NRF 240 may transmit a discovery response to AMF 205. For example, the discovery response may be transmitted by NRF 240 to AMF 205 via the Nnrf interface shown in fig. 2. This Response may be referred to as "nnrf_nfdiscovery_response" and may include an address for NSQ 245. This signaling exchange enables AMF 205 to find NSQ 245.

In 1225, AMF 205 may transmit an availability check request to NSQ 245. For example, the request may be transmitted by AMF 205 to NSQ 245 through the Nnsq interface shown in fig. 2. The Request may be referred to as "Nnsq_PDUCSessionCount_AvailableCheck_Request" and may include S-NSSAI and DNN.

In 1230, NSQ 245 determines whether a quota is available for the new PDU session to be established in S-NSSAI. Here, NSQ 245 may perform operations of the type described above with respect to methods 200 through 1000 of fig. 2 through 10. For example, NSQ 245 may examine the 5GC quota portion of the network slice quota and determine whether establishing a new PDU session would result in exceeding the 5GC quota and/or the network slice quota. If availability still exists, a PDU session may be established and NSQ 245 may decrease the 5GC quota (e.g., add a new PDU session to the count).

In 1235, NSQ 245 may transmit an availability check response to AMF 205. For example, the response may be transmitted by NSQ 245 to AMF 205 via the Nnsq interface shown in fig. 2. This Response may be referred to as "nnsq_pdusessioncount_availabilitycheck_response" and may include S-NSSAI, DNN, and success code.

At 1240, AMF 205 may transmit a context request to SMF 215. The request may be referred to as "nsmf_pdus usessioncount_createsmcontextrequest" and may include S-NSSAI and PDU session ID. In 1245, SMF 215 may transmit the context response to AMF 205. The response may be referred to as "nsmf_pdus countcreatesmcontextrequest" and may include an indication that the request has been granted. In 1250, AMF 205 may transmit a PDU session establishment acceptance to UE 110. In some embodiments, the SMF may be configured to perform the same process as AMF 205, e.g., the SMF may perform 1215, 1225, etc.

Fig. 13 illustrates an exemplary call flow 1300 for network slice quota management in accordance with various exemplary embodiments. The exemplary call flow 1300 relates to a scenario in which there is an interworking handover from 5GC to EPC. Call flow 1300 includes UE 110, LTE RAN 122, 5g NR RAN 120, AMF 205, MME 225, SGW 230, smf+pgw-C215, upf+pgw-U210, and NSQ 245.

In 1305, NSQ 245 is configured to track the count of registered UEs of S-NSSAI and the count of active PDU sessions of S-NSSAI.

In 1310, a PDU session is established in 5GC and is currently active. The PDU session corresponds to S-NSSAI subject to quota management. In this example, the PDU session is already active, and thus NSQ 245 has considered this in terms of quota (e.g., reducing the 5GC quota).

During operation, 5g NR RAN 120 may determine that a handover to the EPC is triggered based on a measurement report received from UE 110 (not shown). Thus, in 1315, the 5g NR RAN 120 initiates the handover procedure by transmitting a handover request to the AMF 205.

In 1320, a portion of a handover procedure may be performed. For example, call flows from third generation partnership project (3 GPP) Technical Specification (TS) 23.502 section 4.11.1.2.1-1 may be implemented during handover. The portion of the switch in 1220 may include steps 2a, 2b, and 2c of section 4.11.1.2.1-1 of TS 23.502.

At 1325, smf+pgw-C215 may request NSQ update quota. The Request may be referred to as "nnsq_pdusersioncount_update_request" and may include parameters such as, but not limited to, PDU session ID, S-NSSAI, DNN, a requester identifier indicating whether the Request is from an SMF or PGW-C entity, etc.

At 1330, NSQ 245 may perform quota management using the example quota management techniques described herein. Here, the NSQ 245 may operate according to the NSQ decision table 1100. To provide an example, these operations may include, but are not limited to, the NSQ increasing/decreasing the count of registered UEs to the S-nsai and the corresponding quota of counts of active PDU sessions of the S-nsai.

At 1335, NSQ 245 may transmit a response to SMF+PGW-C215. This Response may be referred to as "nnsq_pdusessioncount_update_response" and indicates that there is availability in quota and that the PDU session may be transferred to the EPC. In some embodiments, NSQ 245 may reject the request if the quota is full.

In 1340, another portion of the handoff process may be performed. The portion of the handoff in 1215 may include steps 3-21 of section 4.11.1.2.1-1 of TS 23.502.

Fig. 14 illustrates an exemplary call flow 1400 for network slice quota management in accordance with various exemplary embodiments. The exemplary call flow 1300 relates to a scenario in which there is an interworking handover from EPC to 5 GC. Call flow 1300 includes UE 110, LTE RAN 122, 5g NR RAN 120, AMF 205, MME 225, SGW 230, smf+pgw-C215, upf+pgw-U210, and NSQ 245.

In 1405, NSQ 245 is configured to track a count of registered UEs of S-NSSAI and a count of active PDU sessions of S-NSSAI.

In 1410, a PDN session is established in the EPC and is currently active. In addition, the DNN of the PDN session corresponds to S-NSSAI subject to quota management. In this example, if a unified data management scheme is being implemented, NSQ 245 has considered that the PDN is using an IWK quota (or 5GC quota).

During operation, LTE RAN 122 may determine that a handover to 5GC is triggered based on measurement reports received from UE 110 (not shown). Thus, in 1415, LTE RAN 122 initiates the handover procedure by transmitting a handover request to MME 225.

In 1420, a portion of the handoff process may be performed. For example, call flows from section 4.11.1.2.2.2-1 of 3GPP TS23.502 can be implemented during handover. The portion of the switch in 1320 may include steps 1-4 of section 4.11.1.2.2.2-1 of TS 23.502.

In 1425, SMF+PGW-C215 may request an NSQ update quota. The Request may be referred to as "nnsq_pdusersioncount_update_request" and may include parameters such as, but not limited to, PDU session ID, S-NSSAI, DNN, request identifier indicating whether the Request is from an SMF or PGW-C entity, etc.

In 1430, NSQ 245 may perform quota management using the example quota management techniques described herein. Here, the NSQ 245 may operate according to the NSQ decision table 1100. To provide an example, when only a 5GC quota management scheme is appropriate, NSQ 245 may perform operations such as checking quota availability from IWK quota for registered UE counts and PDU session counts. If an IWK quota is available, NSQ 245 may decrease the quota and send a success message. If the IWK quota is not available, NSQ 245 may check the availability of the 5GC quota. If a 5GC quota is available, NSQ 245 may decrease the quota and send a success message. If a 5GC quota is not available, NSQ 245 may send a message with a reason code for the quota not being available. This will result in rejection of the PDU session request during handover from EPC to 5 GC.

To provide another example, when the unified quota management scheme is appropriate, NSQ 245 may reduce the quota for UE ID and S-NSSAI from the IWK quota. If the IWK quota is not available, NSQ 245 may reduce the quota from the 5GC quota. If 5GC quota is also not available, the PDN session may be denied.

At 1435, NSQ 245 may transmit a response to smf+pgw-C215. This may be referred to as "nnsq_pdusessioncount_update_response" and indicates that there is availability in quota and that the PDU session may be transferred to the EPC. In some embodiments, NSQ 245 may reject the request if the quota is full.

At 1440, another portion of the handoff process may be performed. The portion of the handoff in 1215 may include steps 5-15 of section 4.11.1.2.2.2-1 of TS 23.502.

Fig. 15 illustrates an exemplary UE 110 in accordance with various exemplary embodiments. UE 110 will be described with reference to network arrangement 100 of fig. 1. UE 110 may include a processor 1505, a memory arrangement 1510, a display device 1515, an input/output (I/O) device 1520, a transceiver 1525, and other components 1530. Other components 1530 may include, for example, audio input devices, audio output devices, power sources, data acquisition devices, ports for electrically connecting UE 110 to other electronic devices, and the like.

Processor 1505 may be configured to execute multiple engines of UE 110. For example, the engines may include a session management engine 1535. The session management engine 1535 may perform operations related to establishing a PDN session, establishing a PDU session, and maintaining the session during an interworking handover scenario.

The above-described engine is merely exemplary as an application (e.g., program) that is executed by processor 1505. The functionality associated with the engine may also be represented as a separate integrated component of UE 110 or may be a modular component coupled to UE 110, e.g., an integrated circuit with or without firmware. For example, an integrated circuit may include input circuitry for receiving signals and processing circuitry for processing signals and other information. The engine may also be embodied as an application or as separate applications. Further, in some UEs, the functionality described for processor 1505 is shared between two or more processors (such as a baseband processor and an application processor). The exemplary embodiments may be implemented in any of these or other configurations of the UE.

Memory arrangement 1510 may be a hardware component configured to store data related to operations performed by UE 110. The display device 1515 may be a hardware component configured to display data to a user, while the I/O device 1520 may be a hardware component that enables user input. The display device 1515 and I/O device 1520 may be separate components or may be integrated together (such as a touch screen). The transceiver 1525 may be a hardware component configured to establish a connection with the 5g NR RAN 120, an LTE RAN (not shown in the figure), a legacy RAN (not shown in the figure), a WLAN (not shown in the figure), or the like. Thus, the transceiver 1525 may operate on a plurality of different frequencies or channels (e.g., a set of consecutive frequencies).

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the exemplary embodiments described above may be implemented in any suitable software configuration or hardware configuration or combination thereof. Exemplary hardware platforms for implementing the exemplary embodiments may include, for example, intel x 86-based platforms having a compatible operating system, windows OS, mac platform and MAC OS, mobile devices having operating systems such as iOS, android, etc. The exemplary embodiments of the above-described methods may be embodied as a program comprising code lines stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, which when compiled, may be executed on a processor or microprocessor.

While this patent application describes various combinations of various embodiments, each having different features, those skilled in the art will appreciate that any feature of one embodiment may be combined with features of other embodiments in any manner not disclosed in the negative or functionally or logically inconsistent with the operation or said function of the apparatus of the disclosed embodiments.

It is well known that the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of inadvertent or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be specified to the user.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to the present disclosure without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, the present disclosure is intended to cover modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims (21)

1. A processor of a network function, the processor configured to perform operations comprising:

identifying a network slice quota for single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI);

determining that the network slice quota for the S-nsai includes a first quota corresponding to a fifth generation (5G) Packet Data Unit (PDU) session and a second quota corresponding to an interworking handover between a fifth generation core (5 GC) and an Evolved Packet Core (EPC);

receiving a request to update the network slice quota; and

the network slice quota for the S-NSSAI is updated based on the request.

2. The processor of claim 1, wherein the request to update the network slice quota is associated with a PDU session originating in the 5GC and being transferred to the EPC, and

Wherein updating the network slice quota comprises increasing the first quota.

3. The processor of claim 1, wherein the request to update the network slice quota is associated with a session originating in the EPC that is currently registered with the 5GC and is being transferred to the EPC, and

wherein updating the network slice quota comprises increasing the second quota.

4. The processor of claim 1, wherein the request to update the network slice quota is associated with a session originating in the 5GC that is currently registered with the EPC and is being transferred to the 5GC, and

wherein updating the network slice quota comprises reducing the first quota.

5. The processor of claim 1, wherein the request to update the network slice quota is associated with a session originating in the 5GC that is currently registered with the EPC and is being transferred to the 5GC, and

wherein updating the network slice quota comprises:

determining that the first quota is not available; and

the second quota is reduced based on the first quota not being available.

6. The processor of claim 1, wherein the request to update the network slice quota is associated with a session originating in the EPC and being transferred to the 5GC, and

Wherein updating the network slice quota comprises reducing the second quota.

7. The processor of claim 1, wherein the request to update the network slice quota is associated with a session originating in the EPC and being transferred to the 5GC, and

wherein updating the network slice quota comprises:

determining that the second quota is not available; and

the first quota is reduced based on the second quota not being available.

8. The processor of claim 1, wherein the request to update the network slice quota is associated with a PDU session originating in the 5GC and being transferred to the EPC, and

wherein updating the network slice quota comprises:

increasing the first quota; and

the second quota is decremented.

9. The processor of claim 1, wherein the request to update the network slice quota is associated with a PDU session originating in the 5GC and being transferred to the EPC, and

wherein updating the network slice quota comprises:

determining that the second quota is not available; and

the first quota is maintained.

10. The processor of claim 1, wherein the request to update the network slice quota is associated with a Packet Data Network (PDN) session originating in the EPC,

Wherein the combination of Session Management Function (SMF) +packet gateway (PGW) -control plane (C) and APN is associated with the same Data Name Network (DNN) and S-NSSAI, and

wherein updating the network slice quota comprises reducing the second quota.

11. The processor of claim 1, wherein the request to update the network slice quota is associated with a session originating in the 5GC, currently registered in EPC, and being transferred to the 5GC, and

wherein updating the network slice quota comprises:

increasing the second quota; and

the first quota is decremented.

12. The processor of claim 1, wherein the request to update the network slice quota is associated with a session originating in the 5GC that is currently registered with the EPC and is being transferred to the 5GC, and

wherein updating the network slice quota comprises:

determining that the first quota is not available; and

maintaining the second quota.

13. The processor of claim 1, wherein the request is sent to the network function by a single Session Management Function (SMF) and Packet Gateway (PGW) -control plane entity configured for an interworking architecture.

14. The processor of claim 1, wherein the request includes a requester identifier indicating whether the request is sent to the network function by a Session Management Function (SMF) or by a Packet Gateway (PGW) -control plane (C) entity.

15. The processor of claim 1, the operations further comprising:

an indication is received indicating a session originating in one of a fifth generation core (5 GC) or an Evolved Packet Core (EPC), wherein the request relates to the session.

16. The processor of claim 1, the operations further comprising:

whether a fifth generation core (5 GC) only quota management scheme or a unified data management scheme is to be utilized is determined based on the S-nsai and a User Equipment (UE) ID.

17. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions executable by a processor, wherein the instructions cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

identifying a network slice quota for single network slice selection assistance information (S-NSSAI);

determining that the network slice quota for the S-nsai includes a first quota corresponding to a fifth generation (5G) Packet Data Unit (PDU) session and a second quota corresponding to an interworking handover between a fifth generation core (5 GC) and an Evolved Packet Core (EPC);

Receiving a request to update the network slice quota; and

the network slice quota for the S-NSSAI is updated based on the request.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the request is sent by a single Session Management Function (SMF) and Packet Gateway (PGW) -control plane entity configured for an interworking architecture.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the request includes a requester identifier indicating whether the request is sent by a Session Management Function (SMF) or by a Packet Gateway (PGW) -control plane (C) entity.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, the operations further comprising:

an indication is received indicating a session originating in one of a fifth generation core (5 GC) or an Evolved Packet Core (EPC), wherein the request relates to the session.

21. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, the operations further comprising:

whether a fifth generation core (5 GC) only quota management scheme or a unified data management scheme is to be utilized is determined based on the S-nsai and a User Equipment (UE) ID.